Owning a pet is a wonderful experience. Anyone who has fond memories of their own childhood pet can attest to just how much of an impact these animals have on our lives and our development. Our pets often become a part of us and a part of our own personalities.
Unfortunately, owning a pet can be hard work, and it can also be an expensive undertaking. Difficult financial decisions can have heart-breaking consequences when it comes to your pets. The good news is that there are several things you can do to keep your pet-related expenses as low as possible.
Buy in Bulk
Bulk buying is always a reliable way of saving yourself some money, and this is just as true when it comes to supplies for your pets as it is for supplies for your home. You can find huge bags of feed for most pets online and these bags tend to last a long time. Buying your food in this way might cost you more each time, but over the course of a year you will end up spending far less if you buy in bulk.
Improvise Your Toys
Just like people, animals also need entertainment. Pets love having toys to play with, especially when they are younger. However, while you will find plenty of fancy-looking expensive pet toys available for purchase, there is no need to splash out on anything extravagant. Most pets will be just as content with an improvised toy like an old slipper or a tennis ball. Cats are particularly easy to please in this regard, and dogs arenβt usually fussy about what they will play with either.
Think About Pet Insurance
No matter how well you look after your pet, it is inevitable that you are going to have to pay for veterinary care for them at some point. Illness and injury are just as inevitable for animals as they are for people, and so trying to avoid them entirely will be all but impossible. Of course, you can minimise the chances of your pet needing treatment by looking after it properly and ensuring that it has a well-rounded diet and exercise routine.
Keeping your pet healthy can reduce the amount that you have to spend on veterinary care for them, but another effective way of reducing the costs of their healthcare is to invest in pet insurance. Pet insurance can soften the financial blow of any vet treatments that your pet requires. When you compare the costs of pet insurance to the costs of common vet procedures, you can see the value.
You can purchase a variety of cat and dog insurance packages through sites like Everypaw. They offer pet insurance for cats and dogs and also offer a multi-pet discount if you are insuring more than one pet at a time.
Make Your Own Furniture and Scratching Post
Just as improvising your own toys is a great way of saving money, if you are good at DIY and have a creative streak, then you can construct your own pet furniture with relative ease. Like the toys, these donβt have to be anything complicated in order to serve their purpose properly. You can make a perfectly passable scratching post out of nothing more than some planks, some pieces of carpet material, and some sisal rope.
Consider Adopting
There is no shortage of pets out there that are in desperate need of a new home. Animals have to be separated from their owners all the time and for a number of different reasons. These rescue animals can often be obtained for a fraction of the cost of those that come from a breeder1. If you want to save some money on your initial pet purchase, then it is worth considering adopting a pet that has been orphaned or abandoned. Please be aware, that some adopted pets may require more care to begin with.
Use People You Know as Sitters
When you are travelling, it can be difficult to know what to do with your pet. There are plenty of people you can pay to look after them while you are away, but these services are often expensive. You can save yourself a lot of money by having someone you know and trust look after your pets instead.
Owning a pet can get expensive, especially when things go wrong. However, with the right preparations on your part, you can minimise the amount of money that you need to spend on your pets and significantly reduce the impact that pet ownership has on your finances. The tips above are just some of the ways that you can keep your costs down and make pet ownership as affordable as possible.
1- https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/cost-difference-between-rescue-and-puppy-mill-dog/